Stay of Execution – Can I still have a Patent for my Invention after disclosing it?

Here we want to highlight the importance of the so called “grace period”, which is provided for in some jurisdictions.

The question we often face is whether a grace period for the filing of patent applications is available, after an inventor has voluntarily or inadvertently disclosed a subject matter of his invention to the public. This is in juxtaposition to situations where the subject matter was disclosed to the public, without the inventor’s consent.